The Blood of Olympus
by lara3461
Summary: The Seven are on their way towards Athens, to defeat the monsters and stop Gaea from rising once and for all. Fourteen days and counting, will they have enough courage, bravery, and strength to save the world? And if one is destine to parish, how will The Seven defeat Gaea? Read on to find out.
1. CHapter 1 Percy

**Percy**

Being the son of the sea god and all, Percy wasn't entirely thrilled about his lack of trust with water. The only good thing about that fear was the fact that it wasn't real. Now to convince his brain that.

It didn't help that he and Annabeth had just come out of Tartarus, home of the scariest-forms-of-water-known-on-earth (not really earth being that Tartarus wasn't in earth, thank the gods). Between drinking from the Phlethagon, taking a dip in the river Cocytus (apparently home of misery), and jumping over River Acheron, Percy was starting to think that water had it out for him.

On top of that, the Argo II traveled on the sea (apparently Zeus hadn't forgotten his threat [don't ask]) which didn't help to loosen up his mood.

Now Percy stood, leaning against the railing. Annabeth, and Piper, and Jason, and Leo and frank had all insisted in his rest and well being, but he hated feeling unneeded. He needed to do something. And he didn't want them to pity him either-Annabeth had come back from Tartarus too, but she was still working harder than him and the entire crew combined.

He focused on the water, helping to direct them towards Athens. The day that he and Annabeth came back from Tartarus, Frank had said that they had fourteen days until Gaea rose. That didn't leave them much time to save the world, reunite the camps, _and_ stay alive.

Percy sighed inwardly. If only it weren't so complicated. He remembered his battle against Kronos, in the last Great Prophecy. It seemed so much easier than this prophecy. He and Annabeth were looking forward to millennia without worry, since the prophecy wasn't supposed to start until after they were long dead. But of course the Fates had to pluck Percy from happiness and into Camp Jupiter with no idea what so ever about what he was doing there.

Such a happy life.

Behind him, Percy heard footsteps and turned to see Jason. Jason stood beside him.

"Hey. Thought you were sleeping." Percy said, staring out into the sea. He suddenly felt a wave of calm wash over him as he listened to the sea (no pun intended).

"Nah, gave up on that a while ago." Jason replied, shrugging. Then he added, "You're the one who needs sleep."

"Well, you guys need me to get us to Athens faster. At least I can get us a head start before the monsters come to kill us." Jason laughed.

"We need you for battling. Leo's the one who navigates."

"Sure." Percy tried to withhold a yawn but it came out anyway.

"You should really get some sleep." Jason said seriously. "Who knows what we'll meet. If we need you in a battle, you'll be too tired to help."

"Yeah, Percy." A voice chipped in from behind. Piper walked to where the two boys were standing. "Get rest. You look like you need it." He could feel the charm speak flow over him-it wasn't strong, so Percy knew she wasn't doing it on purpose. But it was still strong enough to get to him. He nodded.

"Sure. 'Night, guys."

"We'll see you in the morning, Percy." Jason replied, but by then Percy was already in his bunk.

The room was silent, the only sounds of crickets (which made no sense since he was in the middle of the ocean). Then he heard something.

_Percy Jackson, you're time is near._ A raspy voice whispered in his ear. Percy recognized the voice.

"Gaea." He immediately uncapped riptide. _There is no point. Going to Athens. You're battle is already lost._

"You're lying." He said to no one. He glanced around, but the bunk was empty except for the darkness. _Am I? Would I lie to you, Percy Jackson? Have I ever lied to you?_

The truth was that she never had, which scared Percy even more. But she didn't need to know that. The room sounded with laughter. _I know everything, Percy Jackson. I know you're fears. You can hide nothing from me._

"You can't change the Fates." Percy said. "The prophecy says that we will defeat you. At least one of us will." _But didn't you hear? Oh, no, of course not. While you were in Tartarus, the rest of you were talking about the prophecy. It is either you, Jason, or Leo. And the one to save the world will be dead. Do you know that it can be you? Do you know that you may die in saving the world from itself?_ She laughed cruelly, sending shivers down Percy's back.

"You're lying." He repeated, standing up and out of the bed. "None of us will die." His voice was firm, convinced, almost to the point that Percy believed himself. Almost. Gaea laughed again. _Even you cannot agree to that, Perseus Jackson. Even you must admit that that is not true._

"The only one who will die is you." He growled. _Me? Mother Earth? How will you defeat me? I am more powerful than Tartarus. More powerful than him and Kronos combined. How is it possible to defeat me, an immortal, when you trembled before the sight of Kronos, when you dropped your sword at the mercy of Tartarus? You cannot defeat me, Perseus Jackson. None of you can. And I will have your blood, as well as that daughter of Athena._

"You won't have my blood." Percy said, in his I-am-this-close-to-snapping voice. No one ever had the honor to hear it. "And you won't get Annabeth!" His last sentence was a yell, and, sure, it was a bit corny. But it did make him feel better. _Oh?_ She taunted, and he saw movement out of the corner of his eyes. He swung wildly, but his blade sailed through the outstretched fingers. They scraped the side of his face almost caressingly. Each nail was as sharp as a knife. _Underestimate me, Perseus, and you are dead._ Percy grabbed the hands with his own, and almost threw up at the feeling. It felt like a rotting corpse. Go figure. This was Mother Gaea he was talking about. She probably ate rotting flesh for breakfast.

He scrambled backwards, choking on the smell. "Jeez," Percy muttered. "You really need to take a shower. You smell like a giant's butt." For a second Gaea was silent, as if trying to figure out how exactly to respond to that. If she even had a response, she wasn't able to say it, because just then, his door burst open.


	2. Chapter 2 Jason

**Jason**

They found Percy in his cabin, breathless and leaning against the bed. He was sweating like crazy, and Jason had to admit that it wasn't one of his best moments.

"Percy?" Annabeth pushed passed Jason and kneeled down next to her boyfriend. She brushed away the dark hair from his face.

"Are you okay?" Piper gasped, running in. Percy looked startled for a moment, then stood up with a breathless laugh. His voice was tight.

"Yeah. No big deal. Fell off the bed." Leo put his hands on his hips and made his voice high pitched like a girl's.

"You, Percy Jackson, are a terrible liar." Even though Jason felt bad for admitting it, it was true. Percy was breathless, sweating, and held Riptide in his hand like the Nymphs held Narcissus.

"What happened?" Hazel asked. Percy smiled in a really unconvincing way.

"Nothing. Sorry to scare you guys. Why?"

"We heard your scream from upstairs." Frank said, worriedly.

"Oh." Percy said, pushing himself up. "I got startled out of sleep. It's nothing, really guys. Get some rest."

"We heard you scream something about not touching Annabeth." Leo said, raising an eyebrow. "So, got some competition, huh?" Jason swore he saw Percy's face redden a bit. Out of anger or embarrasment, he couldn't tell.

"Guys, let's let Percy sleep." Jason said. It was obvious Percy was hiding something, but there was no point in drilling him, being that it was also obvious that he wouldn't confess. "He's been awake all day." Percy shot him a grateful look.

No one wanted to leave Percy, but they all knew Jason was right. Everyone got out except for Annabeth. Jason let her stay.

"Is he okay, do you think?" Piper asked worriedly. "I mean, it seems like he's been pretty spaced out since he came back." Jason knew what she was referring to. Just a few days ago Percy and Annabeth had been in Tartarus while the rest of them continued to the other side of the Doors of Death. It seemed nearly impossible-how could they coordinate it so they all came at the same time? But it worked.

Jason thought about Percy, laughing, acting like his usual self. He saw Annabeth smiling at Percy and staring into the sun. Then he shook his head at Piper.

"No, they seem like themselves. It must be something else. Bad dream?" Piper bit her lip, thinking. Jason had always thought she looked prettiest when she wasn't trying. Piper shrugged.

"Maybe. It must've been someone trying to hurt Annabeth or something. I don't know. But I do know we need him to tell us. It could mean something." Jason nodded-demigod dreams were never normal. He sighed. He just wanted to rest and not worry about the war. Why couldn't anyone give them a rest?

How many wars could the Seven handle? How many quests? Jason shook his head to himself, and Piper looked at him weirdly.

"What? I just wanted to make sure he was okay."

"Oh, wait, no, sorry." Jason stuttered. "I was just thinking. What did you say again?"

"I said that maybe we should wait before talking to Percy. He's probably going to hide it from us anyway."

"Yeah." Jason agreed. "But we may not have time. Two days have already passed. That means… twelve days. That's it. And, no offense to Percy and all, but the war might not be able to wait for him. Sooner or later he'll have to tell us. Maybe he saw something important."

"Maybe. But if it was important he'd tell us, right?"

"I don't know. Maybe Annabeth can convince him?" Jason asked, as they turned to Piper's cabin. Piper nodded.

"Yeah, I can ask her if you want." Jason ran his hand over his face tiredly.

"Yeah. Thanks Piper. I'll go check on him, ask Annabeth how he's doing." Piper hugged Jason then smiled.

"Goodnight Jason."

"'Night Pipes."

Jason walked to the door of Percy's cabin, then paused in front of it. Should he just walk in? Wouldn't it be rude to interrupt Percy when he was sleeping?

Just when he came to a conclusion and began to open the door, it was thrown open by Annabeth. The door swung outwards, so it banged into Jason's face.

"Ow," He muttered, running a hand over his nose and jaw. "Jeez Annabeth, do you really—"

"No time. Are you here to see Percy?" She waved him off in a talk-to-the-hand guesture, so unlike the daughter of Athena.

"Uh—"

"_Great_." She interrupted, and walked towards her own cabin. Jason blinked before turning to Percy's door. Inside Percy was standing, holding Riptide like he had never moved.

"What happened?" Jason asked, walking inside.

"Hermes exploded."

"_What?_"

"What, you didn't hear the Crash, Boom, Bang?" Percy looked at him weirdly.

"No, and neither did Piper."

"It was pretty loud. Do we need to bring you to the doctor to check your ears, or…?"

"What did he say?"

"He said that something was coming. We need—LEO!" Percy interrupted himself and broke into a run towards the control room. Jason followed. "Leo! LEO! LEO!" The room was empty. "Where is he? Jason, do you know—" Suddenly a door opened and steam rose from it. Leo came out with a towel wrapped around his body, his hair wet.

"What?" Leo grumbled. "Can't I take a shower brake at least?"

"Leo. Emergency. Alert everyone. Hurry—LEO!" Leo was combing his hair with his fingers.

"Fine, fine. " He ran to the control board and sounded the alarm.

"Get changed." Percy said grimly. "This is going to get ugly."


	3. Chapter 3 Annabeth

**Annabeth**

Annabeth knew she wasn't going to get sleep. The alarm confirmed what she had guessed—probably too late. She had forgotten to tell Percy—she was in a rush to wake up the girls. She wasn't doubting them, but they didn't have powers like the boys did to defend themselves—if they were caught unprepared, they wouldn't have been able to get away or get their weapons in time.

"Annabeth, what is it?" Hazel asked, jogging to keep up beside her. Piper was ahead of them, wanting to check on Jason.

"That's just it," Annabeth said with a hint of annoyance. "I don't _know_." She wasn't annoyed at Hazel—she was annoyed at herself. She was a daughter of Athena for gods sake. She should know this!

On the deck, Jason, Leo, and Frank held their weapons in a defensive position. Well, all except Leo, who had started to pull out random things from his magic tool belt.

The air was eerily quiet, and for some reason Annabeth felt something. Fear. She suddenly realized she held no weapon. Annabeth felt helpless. Useless.

"C'mon!" Hazel urged her, snapping her out of it. "Where's Piper and Percy?"

"I don't know!" Annabeth said, leaving the boys and following Hazel to the dining room. Percy was backed up against a wall, Piper behind him. Right beside the door were two guys. They held a familiar posture, like the one of someone Annabeth knew.

Annabeth's fingers fumbled to find her dagger until she realized she didn't have it. Hazel glanced at her, dagger drawn. Piper's weapon dangled in the fingertips of Dude #1. Dude #2 was lazily sharpening a knife.

"Do we kill them now?" Dude #1 asked. Dude #2 sighed exasperatedly.

"We can't rush it. After all, this _is_ the demigod dad couldn't beat." Somehow Annabeth knew he was talking about Percy. But who was his dad?

"Nah, dad totally took him out. His sword even got cursed."

"Man, wish dad gave _us_ powers like that. We could totally take everyone out." Annabeth felt her eyes narrow. But now was not a time to do something stupid. No. She was a daughter of Athena. She would make a plan.

"Hazel," She whispered as softly as possible. "Get the others. Hurry." Hazel nodded and turned, barely making a sound as she ran out.

"We can do a lot with these half-bloods." Dude #1 snickered. Annabeth noticed how he kept his eyes lowered. So did Dude #2. They kept talking, but Annabeth's eyes were on Percy and Piper. Percy finally noticed her, eyes widening for a second then going back to normal. It was quick, but somehow Dude #1 caught it.

"Who are you—Oh, care to join us?" Dude #1 asked with mock sweetness. Annabeth had a feeling that if she said no, she'd no longer have a head to use for battle strategy. She walked in, head held high but not saying anything. _Think, Annabeth, think!_ "Who is this, Percy Jackson? A good friend of yours?"

"None of your business." Piper snapped. Annabeth watched her walk to stand beside Annabeth and Percy. Annabeth glanced at Piper. Had she tried her charm speak? Piper shook her head, already knowing Annabeth's thoughts. She had already tried, but it failed.

"Getting sassy, huh?" Dude #1 mocked. "Why, do you like Percy Jackson? Is that it? Daughter of Aphrodite getting jealous?"

"Jeez, I knew you were stupid, but I didn't know it was _that_ bad." Percy retorted. "Really. I know it's hard with the dyslexia, but at least try to get some schooling. It's making you look bad."

"What did you just say?" Dude #1 growled, lifting his eyes so it met Percy's. Suddenly Percy froze, face faltering. He looked shocked, terrified almost.

"Sorry," He mumbled, stepping forward. "Annabeth! Piper! Jason, wait! Guys!" He scrambled helplessly before Annabeth got to him. He flailed at her, hitting her like she was the enemy.

"Percy, calm down. Calm down—" Dude #2 laughed.

"You did a good job, brother." Dude #1 just grinned. Annabeth looked up for a second and tackled Dude #1, making him stumble and trip. She had forgotten that she had no weapon, but she could fight just as well without one—she knew that much. They rolled on the ground, Annabeth laying a few punches before Dude #1 was able to pin her down. She glared at him, trying to unseat him, but he was just so _heavy._

"What do you _eat_?" She gasped. He glared back at her.

"You act like you're fearless now, daughter of Athena, but I will find your weakness. I always do." He was about to meet her eyes when she knew.

"Phobus." The fact that she knew him startled him so much that he didn't look at her straight in the eye.

"So you've heard of my name, have you? Are you scared, daughter of Athena? Worried?"

"No," She said defiantly. And she wasn't. Just because Phobus was the maker of fear (along with his brother, Deimos), didn't mean he could make her scared. "What can you do? Fear isn't real. It's an illusion." She remembered her past mother telling her that, when the spiders came at night and left her nothing as proof the next day.

"Everyone has something they're afraid of." Phobus said slowly and deliberately.

"That's true," Annabeth acknowledged. "But not everyone knows as much as I do."

"We all know your wisdom's child. But what does that make you to me? Nothing. I'm fear, Annabeth. I'm terror. Where do smarts get you?"

"No where in particular," She admitted. "But at least I know what your dad thinks of you."

"What?" Deimos demanded. "What does he think?"

"Oh, nothing much. He came by to visit, you know." Now Phobus lessened his hold on her, curious. It wasn't much, but at least Annabeth could breath.

"And what did he say?" Phobus pressed, and she forced herself to remain calm.

"He's just disappointed." Her expression grew sad. "He doesn't think you're responsible. He said he wanted to hunt you both down and kill you."

"She's lying!" Deimos hissed, "She doesn't know what she's talking about!"

"I heard it." Percy said suddenly, recovered of whatever he saw. "He said your mouths are bigger than your egos, and that that was saying a lot. And he said that he would chop off your head. Or feed you to the Hydra. Not sure what that means though."

"He was very angry." Piper added. Annabeth twisted so she could see towards the door. What was happening? Why weren't they there yet?

"Wh-what? Dad was angry? At us?"

"Yeah," Percy said thoughtfully. "He said something about you being worse than Clarisse."

"What?!" Phobus said, sitting up. Annabeth was able to wiggle a bit and slide out a fraction.

"It's a miracle he didn't get you yet. This was just a few hours ago. Thought you'd be dead by now." Percy continued.

"He's probably hiding here right now. Waiting." Annabeth said fearfully. "What if he gets us?"

"Oh, no, not Ares! If he kills us and you, who will be left to save the world?" Piper gasped.

"You're bluffing," Deimos said frantically. "You just don't want us to kill you!"

"You might as well," Annabeth said solemnly. "If you kill us, it'll be an easier death than from Ares. No doubt he'll tie us to a rock and let the vultures feed us."

"No, no, no," Phobus said. He stood, backing away. "We can't die yet! We're still needed—Ares can't kill us!" Annabeth shook her head sadly.

"It doesn't matter." She breathed out. "We're dead anyway." Her plan seemed to be working.

"Whatever!" Deimos said, "If we're going to die, we might as well finish these demi-gods." Or not. Deimos lifted his eyes to meet hers when—

Jason kicked Deimos in the back, sending him tumbling towards Phobus. Leo shot a fireball at him and—oops—missed, almost hitting Annabeth instead. She rolled away.

"Watch where you're throwing those things!" Annabeth yelled, and threw herself at Phobus, making him fall forward—out the door and over the side of the boat. Then he was gone. Deimos glared at them before running and jumping over the side too.

When it was over The Seven stood in the dining room, looking at the wreckage. For a moment there was only silence. Then Leo said,

"Well, on the bright side, they didn't delay our voyage." Annabeth shook her head.

"That's the bright side?" No one respond. They knew they were getting closer and closer to Athens. No one wanted that. But they also knew that if they didn't save the world, they're fate was already decided.


	4. Chapter 4 Percy

**Percy**

Percy was relieved when he fell asleep nice and quickly. Normally it took him hours to finally rest, and that opened his brain for very vivid details of the many ways of death.

Sounds fun, right?  
But for some reason the moment he laid down, he fell asleep. He thought it was a blessing from the gods…

Until the dream started.

He was sort of expecting it—when was the last time one of his dreams were of something normal? The moment he felt it, that tingling feeling in his stomach, he thought, _Yay, Gaea dreams!_

Percy was in camp half-blood, all of the campers surrounding the fire. They were all talking at the same time, and Percy couldn't hear what any of them were saying. But then he heard a familiar voice say,

"Quiet down!" And everyone shut up. Chiron looked sternly at each and every one of the demi-gods. "Yes, this is unlikely. But the oracle knows what she is saying." Percy's friend, Rachel Dare stepped up boldly.

"The prophecy is obviously talking about The Seven. Percy and Annabeth must have escaped from Tartarus—" A cheer erupted from the crowed until Chiron told them to be quiet again. "So now they are back together. We don't know where they are now, but we can hope that they are almost in Athens."

"How would you know that?" A kid asked.

"I saw a vision." She said. "I saw Percy traveling alone. I didn't see where he was. He must have been separated."

"What did the Prophecy say?" Clarrisse asked. Suddenly Rachel collapsed, green smoke coming from her open mouth. Percy had never told her, but he thought she was sort of creepy whenever she said a prophecy. She spoke.

"_The Half-bloods of the Seven Gods_

Will reach the end above all odds

And six will tread a barren path

Each to face the opposing wrath

Blood will shed on either side

Taken from which they relied."

Suddenly the green fog disappeared, leaving a pale Rachel on the ground. The camp was silent as Apollo's sons and daughters helped Rachel to her feet.

"So what does it mean?" Clarrisse demanded, stepping forward. "It's obviously about Jason and Percy and Piper and the other seven." The campers were murmuring, each trying to decode the prophecy.

"_Blood will shed on either side._" Alison, a girl from the Aphrodite cabin said. Her dark hair shimmered in the light of the fire. "That doesn't sound too good."

"But it's on either side," Grover asked hopefully. "That means some enemies might die, right?"

Percy didn't hear an answer, because right after Grover spoke the place changed. He was in total, complete darkness.

_You have not won, son of Neptune._ A sleepy voice whispered.

"It's Poseidon." Percy growled. The voice laughed. _Greek, Roman, both will be crushed under the heel of my sons. I am awakening, Perseus Jackson. Soon the giants—my real sons—will destroy you and both camps. _

"I've fought scarier things." Percy replied in an annoyed tone, but his act was covering the fear he felt. "Me and my friends will save the world." Gaea laughed. _Did you forget, Percy? I _am_ the world._ He heard the laughter surround him and tried to block out the sound, but it seeped through his fingers like sand. _Percy…_ the voice whispered. _Percy…_

"Percy!" Percy jolted upright, face sweaty. Annabeth was staring at him, worriedly.

"Sorry," He mumbled, standing. "Are we there?"

"Not quite," Annabeth said. "Are you okay? You look…stressed. Is it dreams?"

"Yeah," Percy muttered. "What time is it?"

"It's two in the afternoon. You slept pretty long." Percy went to the door, opening it. They stepped out and started walking. "What was the dream about?"

"Where are the others?" Percy asked, avoiding the question. Annabeth glanced at him suspiciously.

"In the Dining Room. They're eating lunch. Why?"

"If I'm going to say my dream, I might as well include everyone." Annabeth nodded.

"So, had a good sleep, sleepy head?" Leo asked the moment Percy and Annabeth walked in.

"I've got news." Percy replied, sitting down.

"What is it? Good or bad?" Frank asked as he stabbed a piece of bacon with a knife.

"Not sure yet." Percy sighed.

"So…is that a yes, or…?" Leo said, blinking.

Percy sighed and said, "No."

"So? What's the news? Spill." Jason strolled into the room. Piper scooted over to make room for him, and he sat.

"There's a new prophecy about our journey to Athens."

"Jeez, how many prophecies can you get?" Leo asked. "I mean, isn't this the…one, two, three,"

"What was the prophecy?" Annabeth asked. Hazel looked at her. Percy knew what she was thinking—why hadn't he told Annabeth first?

"Something about roads…and opposing…"

"We need the exact words." Annabeth reminded him gently.

"Okay…Uh…" Percy wracked his brains, but suddenly he couldn't remember. "_The Half-bloods of the Seven Gods…_" He began.

"That's obviously us." Piper acknowledged.

"_Will reach the end above all odds, _uh… and six to…wait, that's not right…or…yeah, wait, _and six will tread a barren path, each to face the opposing wrath. Blood will shed on either side, taken from which they relied._"

For a moment no one spoke. Then Leo said,

"Well then. That's pleasant." Hazel shook her head, wondering. "Why was it only six? What happened to one of them?"

"I don't like the line afterwards. _Blood will shed on either side._" Jason said. "Could that mean that one of us get's hurt? Or killed? Or captured? Or what if one of us…changes sides?"

"That's impossible." Percy said immediately. "All of us are on the same side. All of us hate Gaea." Percy knew Annabeth hated to admit it, but he also knew she was a child of Athena. Children of Athena never looked over possibilities.

"Some of us have weaknesses thought." She pointed out. "_Really_ bad weaknesses. Any of us can turn—for good, or for bad."

"How can it be for good?" Frank muttered. "This is mother Earth we're talking about."

"Meaning we may think it's for the best. Or like it's protecting our friends." Annabeth said. Percy tried not to notice the sideways glances in his direction. Just because his fatal flaw was loyalty didn't mean he'd go on the other side.

"So you think one of us will turn?" Hazel asked defensively.

"Not necessarily." Annabeth replied. "It's just a possibility. We have to make sure not to let our guard down."

"Well, thinking about it won't help." Jason said suddenly, standing. "The prophecies are twisted, remember? It may not mean exactly what it says." No one replied to that. Percy sighed and grabbed a piece of bacon.

"Well, whatever will happen has to happen so it won't make a difference if we know."

"I think—" Frank started, but he was interrupted by something—Percy saw the blur of an arrow and yanked Frank to the side. The arrow landed exactly where Frank had been standing moments earlier. "Thanks," Frank said, clearly shaken. After nothing happened for a few minutes, Hazel spoke, peering out the doorway.

"What was that fo—" Suddenly Hazel ducked and another arrow hit the wall.

"Alright, that's it. Everyone stay down." Percy said. Everyone crouched behind the table in silent agreement. After a while Leo said,

"One of us has to go out." Percy stood.

"He's right."

"What are you doing!" Annabeth hissed, pulling Percy down by the sleeve just as another arrow whistled past his ear.

"Well, one of us has to go. I volunteer."

"No. If one of us goes, we all go." Jason said.

"Look, we're sitting ducks. If anymore archers come we're dead." Percy argued.

"Jason's right. If you go out there, your fate will end the same. Dead." Hazel pointed out. "We might as well have Jason shoot them or something with his lightning."

"Wait, I know who can do it." said Leo suddenly. "Buford!" There was a sound of something walking, and Percy saw Buford the table march in. He was covered in arrows all over, but still running. "Jeez, rough walk, huh?" The table whirred as if to say _all thanks to you of course._ "Never mind, you're a table. You shouldn't feel anything. Anyway, Buford. I've got a mission for you. Think your up to it?"

The mission apparently consisted of Buford running out and distracting the archer while the Seven ran to a safer place. Percy thought it was a long shot, but hey, what else could you do?

Buford's legs opened at the bottom and it burst up into open air, saluted with it's front leg, and zoomed out.

"Go! Go! Go!" Jason yelled and they ran as fast as they could go. Percy had pulled out riptide and was deflecting arrows from everywhere. Each one was aimed perfectly for his head, but luckily his ADHD kept him fast enough to hit them away. Annabeth was using her dagger, the one she got from Tartarus.

Percy constantly looked around, looking for the archer but he (or she) was no where to be seen. Suddenly Percy stopped running.

"That's it." He muttered. "I'm not going down without a fight." Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank, and Annabeth all stopped too.

"Any idea where the archer is?" Hazel asked. "It would be so much easier if we knew where he is." An arrow was shot towards both Percy and Frank at the same time. Percy tried to deflect it like before, but this time it went straight through his blade.

"What…?" was all that Percy could say before it solidified again and hit his shoulder. The force of the arrow was enough to jerk Percy's entire arm, and Percy swore he felt his bone detach itself from his body. Frank was holding his shoulder—apparently the shot grazed his arm. Lucky him. Percy stared at the arrow, forgetting the fact that there was still an archer somewhere probably wishing for his death certificate. It was about three inches into his shoulder, just a few centimeters away from his shoulder blade. Percy wasn't sure whether he was supposed to yank it or ease it out or…

"Percy!" yelled Annabeth, "Watch out!" He heard the sound of the arrow and moved to the side before it hit his neck.

"Jeez, this dude's got good aim," Percy said, cringing as the arrow in his shoulder moved. Another arrow sliced the side of his face. "I will kill him." Percy muttered.

"I'm flattered." A voice next to his ear said. Percy stumbled to the right and turned. An arrow was poised to shoot his face. "I am worthy of the attention of mighty Perseus Jackson, hero of Olympus?" Percy shifted his sword to his uninjured arm, which happened to be his left. _Great._ Percy thought grimly. _I can't fight with my left._

"Who are you?" Percy asked, lifting Riptide. Jason stepped forward.

"Seven against one. What are the odds of you winning?" Jason said. "You should leave now."

"Who I am has no concern to you, but if you must know I am Orion."

"Wait, I thought Arion was the horse." Frank asked, confused.

"Not Arion! _Orion._" Orion corrected. "The famous hunter."

"Killed by Artemis." Annabeth finished. "If you're here to take revenge, none of us are Artemis kids. And it wasn't like Artemis did it on purpose. She thought you were a rock."

"A rock?" Orion growled. His solid image flickered, and for a second Percy saw stars in the shape of a man. But it only lasted for a second.

"Wait, why did Artemis try to kill him?" Leo asked.

"She didn't want to. Like I said, she thought he was a rock. She loved him."

"Woah, woah, woah." Percy said. "I thought Artemis didn't fall in love."

"She does." Orion said softly. Then his expression hardened. "But that doesn't matter now. I am only here because I have been promised my life back—in exchange for the lives of three. Frank, Hazel, and Leo. The other four, I shall take alive." Percy pointed the tip of his sword towards Orion's chin.

"I don't think so." He made a jab for Orion's flesh, which wasn't hard since he wasn't wearing armor. His blade hit Orion—and Orion disappeared and materialized behind him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Orion warned. Percy felt the arrow behind his back. "You'd just get yourself killed faster." Jason tried to stab him in the back but Orion easily deflected it with his bow.

"Why do you want your old life back, anyway? Artemis is leading her hunters. She doesn't need a guy right now." Percy said. Immediately he knew it was the wrong answer.

"Not everything is about her!" Orion said. "Doesn't everyone want a chance to live?"

"Yeah, so do we." Percy retorted.

"Don't talk like you didn't already have a chance. Juno let you leave before you came to Camp Jupiter—you just didn't take it."

"Yeah, but there's a world full of people to be saving." Percy said. He knew that talking was the only thing keeping them alive. "Why can't you just choose the good side?"

"Is this really the good side, Percy Jackson?" Orion said. "Do the gods help you at all?" Percy flushed.

"It's only because they don't want to admit that we need to work together. If they—"

"—Weren't so big-headed then they'd understand." Orion interrupted.

"They're not big-headed." Annabeth argued. "Zeus is just worried that we can't handle it. Which is exactly what we can do."

"Woah, woah, woah, _we_ can't handle it?" Leo said. "We've been busy saving the world, excuse you!"

"Leo!" Piper shook her head.

"Well, they still aren't helping. It doesn't matter why." Orion said reasonably. Thunder flashed in the sky.

"He heard you." Frank said fearfully.

"Don't worry, Frank." Annabeth said. "He'll probably just send Artemis to go and be all lovey dovey on him. She's weak." Percy's eyes widened. He turned a bit.

Her eyes were urging them to go along with it.

"Yeah. Artemis? Loser. With a big L." Percy made an L against his forehead.

"Yeah, she fell in love with a _boy_." Piper added. "Gross!" Percy thought it was kind of funny, since she was the daughter of the love goddess.

"Wait, _boys_ are gross?" Leo asked. "What about the girls?" Annabeth and Piper shot him a look. "Uh…I mean, Eeeew, she fell in love with a boy. She's so weak, even her brother Apollo is better than her."

"Boy have cooties. I can't believe she would even _look_ at them! I thought she was against all that!" Hazel said.

"Cooties?" Frank muttered.

"She's got the boy-cootie syndrome." Percy added. He didn't know what it meant, but it sounded cool. "That's even worse than Giant-butt smell!" The Seven gave him a questioning look, which he ignored.

"Yeah, that's…gross." Jason said lamely. "Very, very gross. so gross, that I think if any of the hunters found out they'd all run away. So gross, that—" Suddenly Jason was knocked back and Artemis and her hunters stood before them.

"Excuse me?" Artemis said. She was in her little-girl form, holding a bow in her hands.

"Uh, Artemis. Hi." Percy said. She turned towards him, and nearly fainted when she saw Orion. She recovered quickly.

"Percy Jackson. And…this…your friend?" She looked at Orion.

"That's Orion." Percy replied. "And he's trying to kill us." Artemis blinked.

"Artemis?" Orion said slowly.

"Orion?" Artemis replied just as slowly. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking them. To Gaea."

"Why? Why? _Why? _Don't you care about the world?"

"Of course I do." He replied. "But I want my life back."

"And what, Gaea promised that? You believe her." Artemis's voice fell flat. Percy had never heard her sound so un-formal. "She's using you, Orion. She'll just kill you again."

Orion prodded Percy in the back.

"No, she isn't. And even if she did, I wouldn't be losing. I'd just go back to the stars."

"You'd risk that? Perhaps she will return you to human, but your life will not be the same."

"It will." He said.

"It won't. Because I won't be there." Her eyes we're a child's, but Percy saw the wisdom in it. He also saw the desperation. Orion's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"This isn't about you." But Percy could hear the waver in his voice. Artemis sighed, turning.

"Please. Go back to where you belong."

"I belong _here_. And I will take them to Gaea!" He shoved his bow against Percy's back and Percy winced. Artemis's eyes shone with real hurt as she raised her bow.

"I'm sorry." She said softly, but then her voice was strong. "This has to be done."

She leveled her bow…and shot him.


	5. Chapter 5 Percy

**Percy**

Percy didn't know what to do. The moment when she shot him he turned back into a constellation. It was kind of creepy—the way his body became stars and floated back into the sky.

Artemis looked away. Percy understood. She needed some time alone, with her hunters or even without them. They disappeared without saying goodbye.

"Percy!" Annabeth said, and ran over to him. "Your shoulder—it might be infected." He glanced down, just realizing the arrow stuck in his bone.

"What?" said Frank. "That makes no sense. It couldn't have infected so quickly. Unless it was…"

"Poisoned." He and Hazel said together.

"Great." Percy muttered. "Now I won't make it to my goal—fourteen days of being alive after Tartarus."

"Sit." Piper brought a chair and Annabeth urged him down.

"I need to look at it." She said. Then she carefully reached down to touch the arrow.

Percy drew back.

"Woah, wait, your not going to pull it, are you? Because it doesn't look so bad anymore. Really, I can handle it."

"I'm not going to pull it." Annabeth said. But Percy swore he saw her mutter, "Yet." She touched the arrow on his shoulder, making him wince.

"Annabeth…" Percy's eyes were wide. He didn't mind getting stabbed by a hydra fang. He didn't mind getting a few cuts and bruises here and there. He didn't mind getting bitten by a hellhound. But Percy hated shots. And he felt like if Annabeth pulled, it would be the worst shot in the history of shots.

"It's okay. You're fine. This won't hurt—" She was getting ready to yank.

"Wait—Annabeth—stop, don't." He gently pulled away her fingers. "At least give me a warning, or—"

"Warning." She said and yanked the arrow at top speed.

Percy literally felt it pull his skin, probably tearing out half his arm. He bit his lip, wincing. "Percy, are you—wait, are you _crying?_"

He stood and turned his head, wiping his face.

"Uh, _no_. I'm just…sweating." Annabeth handed him nectar and examined the wound.

"I'm sorry, but it was one of the least painful ways to get it out."

"_Least_ painful?" Percy said incredulously.

"Just drink your nectar, Seaweed brain." Percy obediently chugged it—tasting the sweet hot chocolate his mom made.

He was vaguely aware of the other Seven watching him and Annabeth with sort of awed looks, but he didn't care. His shoulder still throbbed with pain, even after he finished the drink, so when Annabeth touched it he cried out.

"This isn't normal. Percy's taken worse than this. The poison must be worse than I thought." Annabeth said thoughtfully.

"I'm glad you've figured it out." Percy muttered.

"Wow, this arrow's pretty killer." Leo said. He was looking at the arrow with Frank. They walked over. "See how the arrow head is made? It's jagged, so that when you try to pull it out…half of you comes with it."

"I can tell." Percy grumbled.

"Yeah, well it's not like we could've gotten it out without yanking." Annabeth said reasonably.

"You _knew?_"

"Of course. But I also knew that easing it out would only cause more pain. Anyway, Leo and I'll have to look closer into this arrow. Maybe Leo can make a duplicate for Frank—and I can figure out what exactly is in you." She kissed Percy, which made him feel a little better, before marching off with the Percy-murderer.

"We might have to pour nectar directly on the wound." Piper decided. "It could help."

"Or it could blow Percy up." Jason added. "I say we don't. Remember? Over dose and you're dead."

"I don't really care right now guys. I just need to get this thing patched up. I might not be able to fight well enough with a bleeding arm." Percy stood.

"Right." Said Hazel, biting her lip. "Let's go and get it bandaged."

"I'll come." Frank said. "Piper and Jason should stay up here and keep an eye out. Just in case." Jason and Piper nodded, and they split up.


	6. Chapter 6 Hazel

**Hazel**

"There." Hazel said, leaning back to see her work. She had cleaned it up as best as she could, then wrapped it in a bandage. Percy turned his head to see.

"Thanks. If I ever need to get bandaged, I'll tell you."

"Hopefully you won't need to." Hazel said grimly.

"Don't worry." Percy assured her. "I'm not planning on getting shot anytime soon." Hazel cracked a smile.

"That's a relief. I was afraid I'd have to follow you around with medicine or something."

"You can follow me," Frank said hopefully, and they all laughed.

Suddenly the door opened and Annabeth walked in.

"We shouldn't though." Another voice said from behind her.

"Leo, if we don't, It'll spread."

"Yeah, but he might go BAM of he does."

"If who does what?" Frank asked. Annabeth sighed.

"Percy. We should get him more Nectar and Ambrosia. I'm not sure where the poison comes from, but I know enough that it won't stop spreading with just a bit of medicine."

"But…but an overdose can kill you, right?" Hazel asked.

"Yeah, but if we leave it that's it. At least giving him the food will give him a _chance_ to live!"

"But you said the poison isn't spreading fast. He might make it." Leo replied.

"Uh, right here, guys." Percy said awkwardly.

"Well, there's no guarantee either way that he'll live for a long time. Our only chance is to feed him more."

"Or just ignore me." Percy muttered. "That's cool too."

"You know what? I'm giving it to him." Annabeth said defiantly. She marched over to him and sliced the bandage with her knife—the one she got from Tartarus. Hazel didn't like the look of Percy's wound. It was oozing puss, which wasn't normal for demi-gods. Normally wounds were healed before it got to that point.

"I cleaned that myself! It shouldn't have…already…" Hazel said. Annabeth took a cup of Nectar and poured it on his shoulder. Immediately Percy's face relaxed. He put a hand on his shoulder.

"I wonder what that poison was made of."

"I'm not sure what, but it must be something pretty bad." Annabeth said thoughtfully. "Like some dragon. Or something worse." Hazel's mind guessed a lot of pretty unpleasant places where it could have came from—including the front and back of a hydra or something.

"Well then." Leo said. "That's great. Let's get something to eat."

Hazel nodded, still staring at Percy's wound on his shoulder. He gave her an encouraging smile, which was kind of funny since it should've been _her_ comforting _him._ She smiled back, gave one last glance at his shoulder, and went to the dining room.


	7. CHapter 7 Jason

**Jason**

They gathered at the dining room. The live pictures of Camp Half-blood were covered up with tarps, probably Leo's doing, but Jason would have done it anyway too. They were starting to make him get homesick.

Percy looked better, so Jason figured they did a good job in fixing him up. They all helped to set the magical plates and cups, then sat around the table.

"So. How many more days again?" Leo asked, munching on some chicken nuggets.

"Frank said we had fourteen days left," Percy said. "Which was…"

"Four days ago, including today." Annabeth finished. "So after today, we've got exactly ten days to finish the quest and beat Gaea."

"Jeez, that seems a bit tight." Leo muttered.

"I'm sure we'll make it." Piper said. "Don't worry."

"Yeah," encouraged Hazel. "We'll win this war."

"Now you jinxed it." Jason said. Piper shot him a look. Percy knocked on wood.

"How are we going to beat Mother Earth though?" Frank asked worriedly.

Percy bit a piece of his pizza. "Don't worry. It should be a piece of cake. We've been through a lot. We haven't gotten this far to die."

"I guess." Frank said.

Leo laughed. "Great motivator, Zhang. You'll be an awesome coach when you grow up." He made his voice high pitched, like a kid's. "'Coach, do you really think we can win?' 'I guess.'" Jason cracked a smile.

"Anyway," Annabeth said, shooting Leo a look. "We should get there in about…six, seven days given our luck."

"Six or seven? That means we'll have…" Percy counted on his fingers. "Three days left. And I bet there'll be something going to abduct us or whatever."

"I don't know…they've sent a lot of monsters and we haven't been captured since." Jason said. At that moment, the Argo II lurched forward, causing their chairs to slide across the floor.

Leo groaned. "Great job, Jason. Now _you_ jinxed it."

"What? I was only stating a fact—" Jason yelled back defensively.

"It doesn't matter!" Hazel yelled. "If we don't do something we're dead!" Jason flipped his coin and it transformed into a sword. Percy uncapped Riptide.

"Come on!" Jason yelled, and they ran out.

A giant crab was trying to grab a chair from the deck, it's mouth clicking in annoyance. Percy stared.

"How did you not pick this up!" Frank yelled at Leo.

"I don't know! Festus should've—Festus!" The bronze head of the dragon was floating uselessly in the sea, groaning. "Someone's got to save him!" Leo yelled.

"Percy!" Hazel said. "Can't you control the waters, or talk to the crab?"

"I could try," Percy said. He walked over to the edge. "Uh…hi…Giant…dude. What's up?" The crab didn't respond. It clicked its mouthparts in annoyance.

"Can you maybe get out of the way…or…?" It blew bubbles, spitting all over Percy. Percy wiped his face. "Okay, okay. There's no need to be mean."

"What'd it say?" Annabeth asked. Percy sighed.

"It said it wanted to kill us. And that no, he would not move you impeccable human."

""So can't you do something?" Leo demanded. "Like, I dunno, conjure a wave and wash him away?"

Percy looked at him like he was stupid. "Dude, really? It's a crab. Crabs are meant for the water. Plus—his claw is stuck in the control room."

"_What?_" Leo yelled. He ran to the other side of the boat. They could hear him screaming. "GET OUT OF THERE! I WILL BLOW UP YOUR BODY. YOU HEAR ME? BLOW UP YOUR BODY." There were a few flashes of fire and the crab yanked its claw in frustration, causing the Argo II to fly through the air. Percy focused on a wave, and caught the boat just in time. Leo came back spluttering.

"I will _kill_ this monster!"

"Alright. We should get away while we still can." Jason said. "Two of us should distract it, then we'll start it going. Two at the least—if we get separated at least we have five left."

"Well, if we're going to do that, the two should be able to catch up to the boat." Annabeth said reasonably.

"None of the girls can. That leaves it up to Percy, Jason, and Frank." Hazel said.

"Wait, are you trying to say that I'm a girl?" Leo demanded. Percy opened his mouth to reply.

"No one's trying to say that." Jason said, before Percy could get a good solid insult. "We're just saying that we need you at the ship."

"Fine." Leo grumbled. "Whoever's going, just don't forget Festus. We need him."

"I'm going to go. Water's my domain. You'll need me to get the dragon thing." Percy said. Jason nodded.

"Well, that leaves it between me and Frank."

"I'll stay. You can go." Jason looked at Percy and Percy nodded.

"Alright. Let's do it."


	8. Chapter 8 Jason (again)

**Jason** Jason never seen Percy walk on water. Sure, he'd seen him making a huge hurricane before. Not to mention conjure huge waves and breath underwater. But walk on water? Never. Jason had flown above the water, about to suggest maybe carrying Percy to get there faster when Percy jumped off the boat and onto a wave. He was surfing—without a surfboard. "Jason!" Percy yelled. "Can you distract the thing while I get Leo's dragon dude?" Jason nodded and flew further towards the giant crab. "Hey! Ugly!" Jason raced towards the crab's eye, poking it with his sword. The crab tried to pinch Jason with its claws, but Jason was too swift for it. He flew around its head, turning it away from Percy. Out of the corner of his eye Jason could see Percy pushing Festus with the water, towards Argo II. The crab was losing interest in Jason fast. It took a huge step forward, causing a huge wave to hit Jason. _Well, now we know why tsunamis are created._ Jason thought as he spiraled backwards in the air. He shot a bolt of lightning towards the creature, effectively frying half of its shell. The crab turned angrily, snapping its jaws. Unfortunately it turned right towards Percy. "Percy! Look out!" Jason yelled, but the crab already reached forward and plucked Percy off the wave. "Holy Hera!" Jason heard Percy yell. "No! Festus!" He heard Leo yell at the same time. Festus was sinking. Jason flew towards Percy. Percy sighed in annoyance. "Jason, get Festus first. I've got Mr. Crab." The crab made a grab for Jason, but Jason avoided his claws. "Are you sure?" "Dude, I told you to move—hurry. Come back when you've gotten Festus up." Jason nodded and willed the winds to push him towards Festus. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to get it out of the water, but he grabbed its tooth and pulled with the air. Assuming the dragon wouldn't bite off his fingers, Jason and Festus would probably make it to the ship in…five minutes. Already Leo was turning the ship back around to help grab Festus. Suddenly there was a shadow above Jason, and Jason looked up. Frank was in his huge eagle form and was swooping down to help. The girls couldn't do anything in the middle of the sea, but Jason heard Annabeth snapping off directions to everyone, and Hazel working with Piper to turn the canon. "Frank, I'm going to help Percy! Get Festus back on the Argo II!" The eagle, otherwise known as Frank cawed. Jason assumed that meant something along the lines of, 'I will!' Jason flew towards the giant crab and Percy, taking out his sword. Percy already had his out, and was willing the sea to crash into the crab over and over again, though Jason doubted it would do anything. Not that Percy could do anything more. He was still clamped in between the crab's claws, and was struggling to slice them off. Jason sliced the crab's shell, causing some of it to tumble off. Then he jabbed his sword straight into its flesh. The crab roared and exploded into dust. Percy landed in the water and rode the waves, towards the Argo II, where apparently Festus had been returned. Jason landed on the deck of the ship. "Well then." He said, grinning. "That was fun." 


	9. Chapter 9 Jason (I swear, last time)

**Jason**

Jason's dreams were untouched, luckily. He went to sleep easily for the first time in days. He was half expecting some crazy god to appear or something, but no psychopath dude came.

When he woke up the next morning, he felt better than he had during the past week.

"Hey Jason." Piper said, hugging him.

"Hey Pipes. What's up?"

"Nothing. Why, does there have to be something up for me to hug you?" Jason grinned.

"Nope." She pulled back for a second.

"You look better."

"Yeah, I got some sleep yesterday—I guess Gaea's giving me a rest." She bit her lip in thought. Her hair was braided down her back, with a flower holding together the strands. She wore a T-shirt and jeans, and even though she was trying to look as worse as possible, Jason thought she looked great.

"That's weird," Piper said. "I didn't have any dreams yesterday either. I wonder what's up." Jason put an arm around her waist.

"Whatever it is, I'm going to enjoy it." Piper smiled.

"Maybe it's because you looked scary yesterday." She teased. "Scared away all the monsters in our dreams."

"Hey!" Jason protested, but he was smiling. Piper kissed him.

"I'm joking, thunder boy." Thunder boy? Jason raised an eyebrow. That was a new one. Piper nudged him with her hip.

"Guys? I'm sorry to break up…This," Jason and Piper turned to see Leo. "But everyone's wondering where you are. So...um…yeah." Jason grinned and nodded.

"We'll be there."

When they got to the dining room, everyone looked up at them. Percy was drinking a blue milkshake. Annabeth was eating pizza with olives, and Leo was enjoying another plate of chicken nuggets. Frank was eating noodles and Hazel was finishing up some soup. Everyone looked upbeat and happy.

"About time you got here." Percy said between sips. "You aren't usually late. We were about to call a search or something."

"Says the boy who fell asleep with his girlfriend out of the bunks." Piper shot back. Jason knew what she was referring to. Before, they were all worried because they couldn't find Annabeth and Percy. It turned out they just fell asleep the night before, outside the bunks.

"Well, if you want we can fall asleep _in_ the beds next time," Percy grinned. Hazel started fanning her face with her hands, and Annabeth reddened.

"It's not like we were doing anything. Or would do anything."

"It's okay Annabeth. You can tell us. There are no secrets between us." Leo joked.

"Well, for starters, there was some ki—" Percy started.

"So, why were you two late?" Annabeth interrupted, forcing a smile passed gritted teeth. She was staring daggers at Percy.

"We were talking." Piper said, with a slightly embarrassed look.

"Yeah, I finally had a good rest last night." Jason grinned. "I almost forgot what it feels like."

"That's funny." Annabeth said thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, I slept pretty easily too."

"It must be some kind of dude of luck." Percy said. "Like, I don't know, peeing happiness on the ship or something." Percy grinned. "Like, Argo II is some big toilet."

"Did you just call my ship a toilet?" Leo asked seriously. "Tell me you didn't."

"So…um…did anyone else have any dreams last night?" Jason said quickly, hopefully preventing Leo from exploding the ship or something.

"No." Percy replied just as quickly, face paling a bit. Piper glanced at her dagger. She must have seen something. Jason watched both of them closely. Annabeth shot Jason a look—she knew Percy was lying.

Jason decided to let it slip. Everyone seemed happy at the very least, so he hated to ruin it by making Percy and Hazel recite some prophecy or something. He would ask Percy later.

"Anyway, I'm on duty." Jason said, standing. "I should be going out." Percy stood too.

"Yeah, I'm not so hungry anymore. You guys continue. I'll go with Jason." Frank waved a fork at them.

"I'll be there in a second, just gotta finish eating." His mouth was full of noodles, so Jason figured he said something along the lines of "I'll eat you in a second, just get finer ethics." Jason stared at him with confusion, but Percy just nodded like he understood the whole thing.

"Sure, Frank, take your time." Jason shrugged it off—Percy probably spent his life eating, so he probably already knew the language like it was his own. Frank nodded and Jason walked out with Percy.


	10. Chapter 10 Percy

**Percy**

Percy never really liked lying.

It always felt wrong to him. Especially when it was to his friends. But this was a piece of information they didn't need to know.

He stood against the railing, watching out for any monster. Jason stood a bit apart from him, which made Percy know he was about to ask. He really didn't want to tell him. He really didn't _have_ to tell him. It wasn't like it affected anyone else—no one except himself.

He was about to say something reasonable, like, "I'm not going to tell you anything," when Jason spoke.

"So, what's up?" Percy glanced up, regarding him warily. He searched Jason's face, but it was hard to tell what the dude was thinking. His expressions mostly consisted of grinning and just staring, and that wasn't a lot to work with.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked with his I'm-innocent-don't-hurt-me look he had perfected over the years. Jason sighed. Percy had the urge to sigh too, but he decided against it. He'd been given the sentimental talk multiple times since he came back from Tartarus, and he was tired of it. It was always, "it's okay if you have dreams, Percy." Or, "It's okay if your scared, Percy." Or even worse, "It's okay if you're useless Percy." Yeah. Very good motivators. Did they give Annabeth the same brilliant pep talks? He didn't know, but he doubted against it. If she were having bad dreams she'd tell him. Maybe. It wasn't like he was telling her anything.

"Percy?" Jason asked.

"Huh? Sorry. What?" Percy asked. He realized he'd been staring at Jason for five minutes.

"Never mind." Jason said sheepishly. "I think you know?" He said it like a question, and Percy tried his best to look clueless.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Now it was Jason's turn to stare at Percy. Percy would've preferred grinning.

"Well, you seemed sort of…stressed I guess when I mentioned the dreams."

"And?" Percy asked.

"I don't know. That's what I'm asking you." Jason replied. Percy didn't know what to think. Jason was a pretty good interrogator.

"What's the question?" Percy replied smoothly. Or at least as smoothly as he could get it to be. Which wasn't really that smoothly.

"What's bothering you?" Jason asked.

"What do you mean? I'm not bothered. I'm fine." Percy half-grinned. Jason didn't return it. His stare reminded him of what Mrs. Dodds used to look at him like.

"All right, Percy." Jason said tiredly. "You don't have to tell me. But we might have to know. What if it's important?"

"It has nothing to do with any of the other Seven." Blurted Percy. He cursed himself. Why did he say anything?

"What do you mean?" Jason asked, curiously.

"Nothing. I mean—" Percy sighed. "It's just about me. It won't affect you guys." Jason looked at him for such a long time, Percy started to feel uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, Percy." Jason said quietly. Percy blinked. Out of everything he thought Jason was going to say, that was definitely not one of them.

"For what?"

"It's none of my business." Jason shrugged.

"You're just trying to be careful." Percy replied.

"I guess." Jason said, and he left. Percy turned back to the ocean, and he swore he saw something—something shimmering. The water moving. When Percy blinked, the movement stopped.

Percy shivered, remembering his dream. If what he saw in his dream was right, Percy wouldn't be on the ship for much longer. He rubbed his eyes, sighing.

He pictured the Fates spinning their silk and knitting socks. Percy wondered how big his sock was now. The three old ladies were pretty creepy, in Percy's opinion. The last time he saw them, the middle lady had cut the string. Grover had freaked out, but Percy hadn't known about the Greeks.

He was kind of glad he had at least a few years of peace. Now his worries had a lot to do with dying.

"Hey, uh, Percy?" He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned. Leo looked at him questioningly. "Do you mind figuring out how long we've got until we get to Greece? The giant crab dude killed my map."

"Oh, yeah, sure." Replied Percy. "So do you want to know where we are, or…?"

"How long it takes." Leo corrected, raising an eyebrow. "You know, you're less scarier than Jason. When I first met you and stuff? You were like, Hades or something. I thought you would—"

"Thanks." Percy interrupted. "It should take, probably, six days. If there aren't any stops."

"Great." Leo groaned. "We'll never make it to Athens."

"Don't worry about it—I'm sure we'll have enough time to beat Gaea." Percy said. "They didn't make us the Seven for nothing."

"You know, I haven't had a bad dream in such a long time, now I'm starting to get suspicious. Like some god or monster or what ever'll blast us out of the water or something."

"You're the most optimistic person I've met on this ship, Leo." Percy deadpanned. Leo laughed.

"I'm the optimistic one? That's a little sad." Percy grinned, but his heart wasn't in it. He couldn't let the dream happen. He just couldn't.


	11. Chapter 11 Piper

**Piper**

Piper hated her dagger. Every time she wanted it to show her something, it showed her the wrong thing.

Today was not exception. Right before she went to see Jason, she glanced at her dagger. Yeah, not a good idea.

She'd seen a boy. His back was turned to her, and he was being dragged into the open ocean. A boat hovered—half in the sky, half in the water. She wasn't sure, but it looked like blood had spilt in the water, because it was dark around the boy.

Piper watched him being pulled under the water, flailing, as people in the boat yelled. Suddenly the boy went limp—and the vision disappeared.

Piper glared at her dagger now, remembering how she had gasped and dropped it. "I'm never going to look at you again until you show me something useful." Piper promised it, taking a deep breath. And looking into the blade.

This time she saw a girl, her back against the wall, crying. Beside her a boy trembled, and Piper heard laughter echoing in the room. A fist came down on the boy…

"Piper!" Piper dropped her dagger, and fell backward—straight into Jason's chest.

"Jason, I thought…what are you doing in my room?" Jason turned red.

"I…I was checking up on you."

"Without knocking?" Piper asked, unimpressed.

"I was knocking _and_ yelling, but you wouldn't answer. Now I see why." He eyed her dagger meaningfully.

"Oh, that?" Piper asked, picking it up and tossing it behind her back. "It's—"

"Don't say nothing," Jason said tiredly. "I just talked to Percy. Can't you just tell me what's bothering both of you?" Piper was stunned. Percy was seeing things too? Through what? Dreams? Or did he just have random visions…?

"I have no idea about him," Piper said, "But me? I don't know, Jason. I just can't. I mean, what it's showing me…"

"What is it?" Jason asked gently, closing the door. Piper had always wanted at least one chance to be with Jason—just her and him before the war. But this wasn't how she imagined it would be.

"I don't know." Piper said hopelessly. "All I see is someone hurt. Two people. At first it was just a guy, but when you came in…it was a girl." Jason stared at her for a second.

"It's okay." Jason said, giving her a hug. "Did you see who it was?"

"No." Piper replied. "I didn't see. Their faces were always covered." Jason looked like he wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Piper called over Jason's shoulder. Annabeth walked in.

"Oh, sorry, is this the wrong time?" Annabeth asked, eyebrows raised at Jason.

"No," Jason said smoothly. "I was just about to leave." Piper had never seen Jason lie before, so she didn't stop him when he walked out.

"What's up?" Piper asked Annabeth. Annabeth shrugged, sitting down.

"Just worried, I guess. It's no big deal. Jason didn't have to leave—I could have asked you later." Piper shook her head and smiled.

"It's fine. So what are you worried about?" Annabeth looked at her hands for a second.

"Percy. Sorry, I bet you get this a lot. But Hazel and Frank are getting rest and I didn't want to bother them and—"

"It's fine, Annabeth." Piper cut her off. She never saw Annabeth so…insecure. "If you want to talk to me, I'd be happy to help."

"Thanks." Annabeth said. "He's acting…weird. I can tell. But he won't tell me what's wrong." Piper considered this for a moment.

"No offense, but what do you want me to do?" Piper asked. Annabeth shrugged.

"I don't know. I just want someone to talk to, at least. Normally I go to Percy, but I can't really rant to him about…him." Piper nodded, feeling stupid.

"Well, have you tried to at least confront him? Guys totally break down when you do that. They can't handle lying to girls." Annabeth laughed.

"I'm not sure I can try that though."

"Why not?" Piper asked.

"Because. I don't know. But I feel like if he wanted me to know he'd tell me himself. So I'm not going to push it." Piper looked at her amazed. She sort of wished that she and Jason had a history, but she knew that they didn't. Everything that she thought was real from there past was all a trick of the Mist. Annabeth stood. "Sorry. That was pointless…"

"It's fine." Piper put a hand on the other demigod's shoulder. "If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here." Annabeth smiled gratefully before heading for the door. Before she left, she turned.

"Likewise." And Annabeth was gone.

The next morning was a drag. Percy was avoiding everyone—that was obvious. Even Jason seemed to give Piper space. The only time they'd actually spoken was during breakfast.

"So, guys. What's with the long faces?" Leo asked cheerfully. The only people who didn't look so upset were Frank, Hazel, and Leo. Good for them.

"Long faces?" Percy asked. "I actually feel pretty great. Two days and no one's attacked us." He actually didn't _look_ great, Piper observed. But she decided not to comment.

"I doubt it'll last very long." Annabeth pointed out reasonably. "The closer we get to Athens, the higher our price is."

"Gee, thanks for that great motivating speech, Annabeth." Leo said sarcastically.

"She's just telling us that we shouldn't let our guard down, Leo." Hazel said. "And she's right. We shouldn't feel safe. A demigod is _never_ safe."

"Whatever." Leo said. "I still think we should be optimistic about it. Like, I don't know, 'We'll only die twice as long as it took before!'" Frank rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, you're even better than me." Annabeth deadpanned.

"I think they've already thrown ever single monster in our faces." Jason said.

"If there _is_ more, I think I'd rather go back to Hades." Hazel muttered.

"There is more." Annabeth said. "We've only seen a fraction of the monsters existing."

"He's right," Percy said with an impressed look on his face. "You _are_ a ray of sunshine." Annabeth punched his shoulder and Percy laughed.

"I've handled you so far, Percy Jackson." She warned. "But don't push your luck." Percy nudged her back and took a bite of blue waffle.

"Well," He said. "I've handled _you_ so far, so I'm pretty sure it won't be that hard." Jason cleared his throat and everyone looked at him.

"So? How much longer?" He asked.

"I'd say probably, like, five more days." Percy said through a full mouth. "As long as no one tries to kill us on the way." He added.

"Okay, so seven more days." Piper said reasonably. "I doubt that anyone would leave us alone for longer than a day."

"Actually, we haven't died yet. Maybe we'll last for another—" Suddenly the boat lurched to the right and Piper gasped. A face, horrible and…smiley? Grinned at them.

"Perseus Jackson," It growled. "Gaea will greatly reward me for this prize." Percy paled.

"You won't be taking him!" Jason yelled. Frank jumped off the boat and turned into a huge eagle, screeching. Meanwhile Hazel stood beside Leo, trying to stab it's hands as it grabbed for Percy.

"What is that thing!" Leo asked. Percy snapped out of his shock, uncapping Riptide.

"Polybotes." Percy snarled, and sliced off a finger. Polybotes roared, and Frank clawed his eyes. Jason willed the air to guide him towards Polybotes' back.

Annabeth ran to the railing and jumped, landing on Polybotes's hand. Polybotes shook her off, and swatted Frank in the air, hitting his wing hard. Frank spiraled into the sea, and Jason only barely caught him with the winds. The son of Poseidon made a huge wave topple the giant, but the giant was too quick. Polybotes grabbed the edge of the Argo II, making it tip over.

"Polybotes!" Piper called in charm speak. "Leave! You have no business here!"

"I'm a giant, fool." Polybotes said. "Your pitiful powers work nothing against me." He reached and grabbed Jason and Frank. Leo's hands burst into flame, and he threw it at Polybotes's face. The giant knocked Leo and Hazel over, effectively knocking them out. Percy stood, watching Jason and Frank struggle, and Piper and Annabeth hopeless.

"Put down your sword, Percy Jackson." Polybotes said. Piper thought it sounded like he was trying to sooth him. "If you do, your friends will be safe."

Hazel pushed herself up, and Leo turned over with a groan.

"Don't." Hazel said. Jason shook his head. Percy looked over the crew one more time.

"How do I know you won't hurt them when I surrender?" Percy asked. Polybotes sighed.

"I will swear on the river Styx."

"Do it." Percy commanded.

"I swear on the river Styx that no harm will come to your crew by me." Percy looked at the giant warily.

"Don't! Percy!" Frank yelled, now fully human. Percy looked away, tip of his sword dropping.

"Percy, do not surrender yourself." Piper said in full charm speak, but Percy somehow ignored her. He stepped forward.

"Take me." Polybotes laughed as he dropped Jason and Frank, and Percy, son of the sea god, stepped into the waves. Polybotes flicked his finger on Percy's head, and Percy slipped on the water (Piper wasn't sure how that was possible). He slipped under the waves, thrashing.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled, Piper knew she was about to jump over the side to help, but Jason stopped her. Percy made it up to air one last time, gasping, before Polybotes yanked him under the waves, and Percy went limp.


	12. IMPORTANT

**IMPORTANT**

Hey guys, I bet none of you got this far, did you? Well, anyway, I honestly didn't really post that much here, but I've got the full story on wattpad. Go to wattpad and search for Lara3461 in the search bar, then you'll find the rest of this story, if your interested. Thanks a lot and pls do comment! :D


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